Central Baptist Church

The Panola County TXGenWeb church history says the church began in an August 1901 dispute over where missionary funds should go, when R. W. Priest and others left the Carthage Baptist church. The seventeen who formed the new congregation on September 26 met at the Christian Church, first called themselves First Baptist and then Central. A railroad chapel car meeting in February 1902 added seventeen members, and ground was broken on September 1, 1902. When the 1949 building was dedicated, the original sanctuary was dismantled and its materials were moved to Holland's Quarters.

What the plaque says

Central Baptist Church Organized with 17 members on September 26, 1901, Central Baptist has been a significant part of Carthage's religious and cultural heritage through the years. Formed under the leadership of the Rev. H. E. Harris, the early congregation included members of the Harris, Butler, Comer, Gillaspie, Kirkley, Collins, Nelson, Neal and Bowman families. They very quickly formed a Sunday school and a Ladies Aid Society, and by the end of the year had invited J. M. Wright to be their first pastor. Central Baptist Church held its worship services and other meetings in rented space until its first sanctuary was completed in 1911. Although the congregation struggled with financial hardships in its early years, by the 1940s, membership was large enough to initiate plans for the construction of a new building. Completed in 1949, it contained a 450-seat auditorium and served until 1987, when an even larger building was constructed. Out of its own growth, Central Baptist Church sponsored a mission congregation in Carthage, which became Southside Baptist Church. Members have participated in other mission projects, both in and outside of Texas. Throughout its history, the congregation has developed programs and ministries of education, outreach, music and worship, as it continues to uphold the ideals and traditions of its founders. (2001)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tex Ritter Museum and Texas Country Music Hall of Fame — steps away
  Carthage's country music museum, with Tex Ritter's boots, guitars and saddles in a room styled like a movie theater, and exhibits on other Texas stars, Jim Reeves among them.

More markers nearby

• The Panola Watchman — steps away
• Margie Neal — steps away
• Carthage Book Club — steps away
• Jonathan Anderson — steps away